Ibsen and His Major Plays in English

You will become familiar with many of Henrik Ibsen's plays and their historical and cultural background. You will also develop your skills as a reader and interpreter.

Student learning goals

General method of instruction

Mostly class discussion following your reading of the plays, with some lecture. You will be encouraged to express yourself freely in and out of class. My attitude to the study of literature is that there are no "wrong" interpretations, but you should find support for your reading in the text. I encourage students to disagree with my own readings; it makes for lively and instructive conversations.

Recommended preparation

This is a 200-level course, and there is no required preparation. It does help, however, if you enjoy reading and discussing literature.

Class assignments and grading

Careful reading and re-reading, and, for those who choose to write research papers, library research and review of the critical literature about Ibsen's plays. Some video materials will also be used in class.

Midterm and final essay exams each count for forty and fifty percent of the course grade, respectively. An ungraded 3-4 page low-stakes paper gives you ten points (out of one hundred) when completed. You may write a 3-4 page research or critical paper in lieu of the midterm or the final (but not both, and the paper must be written in advance of the test). If you would like ad hoc W-credit for the course, you may write a ten page paper or two 5-6 page papers, which you will have the opportunity to revise. One of these may be a slightly longer low-stakes paper, and the other one may be a paper written in lieu of the midterm or the final. You may also take the exams and write the W-papers completely separately, so that your course grade depends on the exams and your W-credit is earned by writing the papers.

The information above is intended to be helpful in choosing courses. Because the instructor may further develop his/her plans for this course, its characteristics are subject to change without notice. In most cases, the official course syllabus will be distributed on the first day of class.
Last Update by Jan Sjavik
Date: 02/25/2011

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Modified:April 23, 2014